Glorified fan-fiction. A brazen repackaging of scenes, characters & events recycled from previous movies & a rejection of originality in favour of complete & total reverence to the brand. The few attempts to cast off the influence of Lucas merely offer a calculated effort to appeal to the populist demographic of The Hunger Games series; where wholesome underdogs are made to fight against an evil authoritarian regime.

A cinematic brick in the face with over two hours of running around to nowhere in particular apart from a frequently incoherent jumble of battle scenes. The joyless references to other money making films are dropped with calculated precision and only remind one of the relative panache of the 1977 original which at least paused occasionally to catch air.

a big fat atonal mess with poorly developed characters and muddled thematics.The entire film reeks of post-production woes and battles, reshoots, reedits, and by committee filmmaking. It is a glorified commercial for the brand of star wars and it doesn't work as a stand-alone film not at all. If this wasn't star wars, pretty much no one would like it and people need to stop worshipping it like a religion.

If "The Force Awakens" was the cinematic equivalent of 'comfort food' - familiar and filling but, in the end, a meal we've been served before - then Gareth Edward's "Rogue One" acts as the franchise's answer to "Casino Royale." As gritty and intense as a boots-on-the-ground war movie, the film's boldest innovation might be its depiction of the Rebellion as an organization willing to dirty its hands for the cause.

Easily the best Star Wars movie since Jedi, because it both expands its source thoughtfully (unlike VII) and is well directed (unlike I-III). The fact that it's an unnecessary spin-off actually gives it certain freedoms; it's refreshing to not know who'll survive, and surprising to care. Top virtue: the darkness and moral ambiguity, the vibe of paranoia, oppression, and ruthless survival in a police state.

I'm not the target audience for this film. An awful lot of exposition, emoting through eye contact and attempts at Wagnerian levels of grandiosity. I love most of the cast in other works, but am hard-pressed to find any spectating appeal in the franchise. Sorry.

12/15 Edwards provides an enjoyable romp into the Star Wars universe with a film in the series that finally seems more geared towards adult fans than making new young ones. Jones is quite good as our heroine here and several supporting players shine save Diego Luna who seems miscast. Effects are solid especially the virtual performances that are inching towards realism.